Q&A with Owen Riddall: Novata

Introduction to Novata

Novata is a public benefit corporation created by a unique consortium of non-profit and for-profit organizations that are experts in social justice, financial data, and private markets. Their mission is to empower private markets to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive form of capitalism. Novata is the leading ESG data management platform built specifically to help GPs collect data from their portfolio companies. The Novata platform provides:

  • a clear starting point for selecting ESG metrics
  • painless data collection into a secure database
  • data insights and analytics tools to inform investment decisions

What was your recruitment challenge?

The first time that I worked with Intelligent People, Novata had a Product Manager vacancy. We needed this position filled quickly, but wanted to focus on getting the right candidate, with the right skills for the role. Our need was quite specific – we needed a Product Manager who had a high level of natural intelligence, with the skills and knowledge to do the job, coupled with the drive, motivation, and initiative, required to work within a fast-paced start up environment.

We needed a recruitment agency that we could trust to do the job well, and could take the recruitment process off our hands, freeing up time for us internally.

What made you approach / work with Intelligent People?

We initially approached another recruitment professional, who recommended Chris Mason and Intelligent People to us as product management recruitment specialists. When we got in touch, I found Chris to be open and thoughtful, taking time to understand our business and its vision moving forward. As part of the brief, we also discussed the product roadmap, any specific skills required and what impact we hoped this hire would have on the business. Chris had the strong knowledge and experience across the product management space that we needed from a recruitment partner.

What services did Intelligent People provide?

Chris provided a strong understanding of the product management recruitment market, advising us on what calibre of candidate we could secure against our budget. Chris helped to define salary expectations for the candidates, and we were clear on how we could move forward with the recruitment process. Chris navigated the offer process for us and any negotiations that were required between us and the candidate. As a brand, we feel its important to give feedback to all the candidates in the process, and Chris took care of that for us, which saved us a lot of time.

What was the outcome? Would you recommend Intelligent People?

We were able to quickly secure our Product Manager, Alex, who is performing strongly at Novata and is a real asset to the business. We would absolutely recommend Intelligent People as a recruitment partner. In fact, we’ve come back to Intelligent People again to help recruit for other positions since.

Read other product management case studies

Product Manager placement at Pebble

Senior Product Manager placement at Peach

Product recruitment at ATG

I trust Chris at Intelligent People to help build first class product management teams for my business. His open and collaborative approach to recruitment is refreshing, with strong knowledge and experience across the product management space that we need from a recruitment partner. Read full case study.

Owen Novata